Water levels in Chiang Mai remain under close watch after heavy rain fell across the Mae Taeng and Chiang Dao watersheds between the 7th and 9th of August, sending a surge of water down the Ping River and into the city. As of this afternoon river levels through town are still running above normal.
Kuakul Manasamphansakul, director of the Chiang Mai Irrigation Project, said the P.67 station at Ban Mae Tae in San Sai district, the last measuring point before the river enters the city, recorded a flow of 308.95 cubic metres per second with a slight upward trend. At the P.1 station by Nawarat Bridge the water level measured 2.63 metres, which is 1.57 metres below the riverbank and still rising, though not yet at a critical level. The peak this afternoon (11th August) is expected to reach between 2.70 and 2.80 metres, still 1.40 to 1.50 metres below the bank.
The Irrigation Office Region 1 is speeding up drainage through floodgates and weirs along the entire Ping River, from the city centre down through Chom Thong and Hot districts to Doi Tao Lake and the Bhumibol Dam, and continues to monitor the situation closely.
The Chiang Mai Irrigation Project has also test-run the pumping station at Sop Mae Kha in Hang Dong district, opening and closing floodgates and testing all four installed pumps, each rated at 2.5 cubic metres per second, for a combined maximum capacity of 864,000 cubic metres a day, as part of efforts to manage the water mass from the north and protect Hang Dong and the lower reaches of Chiang Mai from flooding.
